Oliver Lancashire has urged Walsall to finish what they started and roared – ‘do it for Deano.’

The defender wants to clinch survival for boss Dean Smith with the Saddlers on the brink of pulling off League One’s Great Escape, as they stand a point above the drop zone.

They host Charlton on Saturday knowing a win and defeats for both Dagenham & Redbridge and Bristol Rovers will relegate their drop rivals – leaving Plymouth as the only team who could catch them.

Walsall have risen from the dead since Smith took over in January, when they were eight points from the safety line.

Smith has won six of his 23 games, losing just seven, and Lancashire wants to finish the job in his honour.

He said: “We’re definitely doing it for him. He came in from the youth team, the boys knew him and like him.

“The gaffer, Jon Whitney and Chris Nicholl have been great with us. They brought in a positive mentality and things like that. It’s helped us and people can see it out on the pitch with the passion, the positive energy and positive performances we have now.

“In January, we were eight points adrift at the bottom so to be one point out of the relegation zone shows how far we’ve come.

“A few months ago everyone would have taken this with two games to go – we’re on point ahead of the rest.

“We want to top it off on Saturday.”

Easter Monday’s 1-1 draw at Oldham left the Saddlers in pole position ahead of the weekend, when the Daggers host Carlisle, Rovers welcome Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth go to Exeter.

But Lancashire insisted they cannot look any further than Charlton – despite the trip to his former club Southampton on the final day of the season.

The 22-year-old said: “We won’t be celebrating until everything is mathematically sorted. At the start of the season I looked at Southampton away and thought it could be the big game for them.

“I didn’t expect us to be down at the bottom but that’s the way it’s gone.

“The boys have given me a bit of banter about scoring down there and it would be great to go get the winner to keep us up but I’m not thinking about it.

“I’m thinking about Charlton and how we might sort it by then.”